E 

668 

G76 

1872 

MAIN 

IN  I     /• 


IRLF 


ON  THE  SOUTH. 


AFFAIRS    AT    THE 
R    q    c^n    n=7  ;EPOET  BY  GAEL  SCHUEZ 

•    J    53fl    D5M  ANDEEVY  JOHNSON 

AJNJJ  J5i  mm  ^lu.m.^.v^rED  TO  CONGUBSS 
DECEMBEE  10,  1865. 


1ENERAL  GRANT  CONCERNING 
JRS  AT  THE  SOUTH. 

HEADQUARTEBS 

K  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
t&ehington,  D.  C'.,  Dec.  Id,  1805. 
to    your  note  of  the   10th  in- 
a  report  from  me  giving  such 
may    be    possessed  of  coming 
|>pe  of  the  inquiries  made  by  the 
[United  States  in  their  resolution 
taut,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit 

nproval,  and  also  that  of  the  hon~ 
y  of  War,  I  left  Washington  City 
last  month  for  the  purpose  of 

lof  inspection  through  some  of 
.ates,  or  States  lately  in  rebellion, 

j,t  changes   were   necessary  to  be 

jisposilion  of  the   military  forces 

how  these    forces  could  be  re- 

mses  curtailed,  &c.;  and  to  learn, 

le,  the  feelings  and  intentions  of 

[those  States  towards  the  general 

Virginia  being  so  accessible  to 
ty,    and     information    from  this 
tore,    being   readily   obtained,  I 
;h  the  State  without  conversing 
any  of  its  citizens.    In  Ualeigh, 
mo  day;  in  Charleston,   S.  C., 
in nah   and  Augusta,   Ga.,  each 
in  travelling  and  while  stopping 
conversed  freeley  with  theciti- 
Itates  as  well  as  with  officers  of 
|iave  been  stationed  among  them, 
re  the  conclusions  come  to  by 

that  the  mass  of  thinking  men 
3ept  the  present  situation  of  af- 
ith.     The  questions  which  have 
led  the  sentiment  of  the  people 
jons — slavery  and    State   rights, 
State  to  secede  from  the  Union 
Is  having  been  settled  forever  by 
unal — arms — that  man  can   re- 
| pleased,  to  learn  from  the  lead- 
I  met  that  they   not  only  ac 
tion  arrived  at  as  final,  but,  now 

of  ba> 


time  has  been  given  for  reflection,  that  this  de 
cision  has  been  a  fortunate  one  for  the  whole 
country,  they  receiving  like -benefits  from  it 
with  those  who  opposed  them  in  the  field  and 
in  council. 

Four  years  of  war,  during  which  law  was  ex 
ecuted  only  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  through-' 
out  the  States  in  rebellion,  have  left  the  people 
possibly  in  a  condition  not  to  yield  that  ready 
obedience  to  civil  authority  the  American  peo 
ple  have  generally  been  in  the  habit  of  yielding. 
This  would  render  the  presence  of  small  gar 
risons  throughout  those  States  necessary  until 
such  time  as  labor  returns  to  its  proper  chanw 
nel,  and  civil  authority  is  iully  established.  I 
did  not  meet  any  one,  either  those  holding 
places  under  the  government  or  citizens  of  the 
Southern  Stafes,  who  think  it  practicable  to 
withdraw  the  military  from  the  South  at  present. 
The  white  and  the  black  mutually  require  the 
protection  ot  the  general  government. 

There  is  such  universal  acquiescence  in  the 
authority  of  the  general  government  through 
out  the  portions  of  country  visited  by  me,  that 
the  mere  presence  of  a  military  force,  without 
regard  to  numbers,  is  sufficient  to  maintain  or 
der.  The  good  of  the  country,  and  economy, 
require  that  the  force  kept  in  the  interior,  where 
there  are  many  freed  men,  (elsewhere  in  the 
Southern  States  than  at  forts  upon  the  seacoast 
no  force  is  necessary,)  should  all  be  white 
troops.  The  reasons  for  this  are  obvious  with 
out  mentioning  many  of  them.  The  presence 
of  black  troops,  lately  slaves,  demoralizes  la 
bor,  both  by  their  advico  and  by  furnishing  in 
their  camps  a  resort  for  the  freedmen  for  long 
distances  around.  White  troops  generally  ex 
cite  no  opposition,  and  therefore  a  small  num 
ber  of  them  can  maintain  order  in  a  given  dis 
trict.  Colored  troops  must  be  kept  in  bodies 
sufficient  to  defend  themselves.  It  is  not  the 
thinking  men  who  wonld  use  violence  towards 
any  class  of  troops  sent  among  them  by  the 
general  government,  but  the  ignorant  in  some 
places  might ;  and  the 'late  slave*  seems  to  be 
imbued  with  the  idea  that  the  property  of  his 
late  master  should,  by  right,  belong  to  him,  or 
at  least  shouH  ba?a  no  protection  from  the  col- 

ini?  fro  by  Buoii 


,    .  •• 
. 


Pam 


^.^ 

GRANT  AND  SCHURZ  ON  THE  SOUTH. 


LETTEK   OF   GJBNEJRAL   GRANT   CONCERNING    AFFAIRS    AT    THE 

SOUTH,  AND  EXTRACTS  FROM  A  REPORT  BY  CARL  SCHURZ 

SUBMITTED   TO    PRESIDENT     ANDREW  JOHNSON 

AND  BY  HIM  COMMUNICATED  TO  CONGRESS 

DECEMBER  19,  1865. 


LETTER  OF  GENERAL  GRANT  CONCERNING 
AFFAIRS  AT  THE  SOUTH. 

HEADQUARTERS 

ARMIES  ov  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  Dec.  18,  1805. 

SIR:  In  reply  to  your  note  of  the  10th  in 
stant,  requesting  a  report  from  mo  giving  such 
information  as  I  may  be  possessed  of  coming 
within  the  scope  of  the  inquiries  made  by  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  in  their  resolution 
of  the  12th  instant,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit 
the  following  : 

With  your  approval,  and  also  that  of  the  hon 
orable  Secretary  of  War,  I  left  Washington  City 


on  the  27th  of  last   month   for  the  purpose 
making  a  tour  of  inspection    through   some 


the  Southern  States,  or  States  lately  in  rebellion, 
and  to  see  what  changes  were  necessary  to  be 
made  in  the  disposition  of  the  military  iorces 
of  the  country  ;  how  these  forces  could  be  re 
duced  and  expenses  curtailed,  &c.;  and  to  learn, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  feelings  and  intentions  of 
the  citizens  of  those  States  towards  the  general 
government. 

The  State  of  Virginia  being  so  accessible  to 
Washington  City,  and  information  from  this 
quarter,  therefore,  being  readily  obtained,  I 
hastened  through  the  State  without  conversing 
or  meeting  with  any  of  its  citizens.  In  Raleigh, 
N.  C.,  I  spent  one  day;  in  Charleston,  S.  C., 
two  days;  Savannah  and  Augusta,  Ga. ,  each 
one  day.  Both  in  travelling  and  while  stopping 
[  saw  much  and  conversed  freeley  with  the  citi 
zens  of  those  States  as  well  as  with  officers  of 
the  army  who  have  been  stationed  among  them. 
The  following  are  the  conclusions  come  to  by 
me. 

I  am  satisfied  that  the  mass  of  thinking  men 
of  the  South  accept  the  present  situation  of  af 
fairs  in  good  faith.  The  questions  which  have 
heretofore  divided  the  sentiment  of  the  people 
of  the  two  sections — slavery  and  State  rights, 
or  the  right  of  a  State  to  secede  from  the  Union 


time  has  been  given  for  reflection,  that  this  de 
cision  has  been  a  fortunate  one  for  the  whole 
country,  they  receiving  like  benefits  from  it, 
with  those  who  opposed  them  in  the  field  and 
iu  council. 

Four  years  of  war,  during  which  law  was  ex 
ecuted  only  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  through- 
out  the  States  in  rebellion,  have  left  the  people 
possibly  in  a  condition  not  to  yield  that  ready 
obedience  to  civil  authority  the  American  peo 
ple  have  generally  been  in  the  habit  of  yielding. 
This  would  render  the  presence  of  small  gar 
risons  throughout  those  States  necessary  until 
such  time  as  labor  returns  to  its  proper  chan* 
nel,  and  civil  authority  is  fully  established.  I 
did  not  meet  any  one,  either  thoso  holding 
places  under  the  government  or  citizens  of  the 
Southern  Stafes,  who  think  it  practicable  to 
withdraw  the  military  from  the  South  at  present. 
The  white  and  the  black  mutually  require  the 
protection  ot  the  general  government. 

There  is  such  universal  acquiescence  in  the 
authority  of  the  general  government  through 
out  the  portions  of  country  visited  by  me,  that 
the  mere  presence  of  a  military  force,  without 
regard  to  numbers,  is  suflicient  to  maintain  or 
der.  The  good  of  the  country,  and  economy, 
require  that  the  force  kept  in  the  interior,  where 


there  are    many  freed  men,   (elsewhere 


the 


Southern  States  than  at  forts  upon  the  seacoast 
no  force  is  necessary,)  should  all  be  white 
troops.  The  reasons  for  this  are  obvious  with 
out  mentioning  many  of  them.  The  presence 
of  black  troops,  lately  slaves,  demoralizes  la 
bor,  both  by  their  advico  and  by  furnishing  in 
their  camps  a  resort  for  the  freedmen  for  long 
distances  around.  White  troops  generally  ex 
cite  no  opposition,  and  therefore  a  small  num 
ber  of  them  can  maintain  order  in  a  given  dis 
trict.  Colored  troops  must  be  kept  in  bodies 
sufficient  to  defend  themselves.  It  is  not  the 
thinking  men  who  would  use  violence  towards 
any  class  of  troops  sent  among  them  by  the 
general  government,  but  the  ignorant  in  some 


— they  regard  as  having  been  settled  forever  by  places  might ;  and  the  'late  slave*  seems  to  be 
the  highest  tribunal — arms — that  man  can  re-  imbued  with  the  idea  that  the  property  of  his 
sort  to,  I  was  pleased  to  learn  from  the  lead- j  la.te  master  should,  by  right,  belong  to  him,  or 
ing  men  whom  I  met  that  they  not  only  ac-  j  at  least  shoul<4  have  no  protection  from  the  col- 
cepted  the  decision  arrived Mt-  as  final,  but,  now!  are']  sold;  uf  «io]lisions  IK; 

that  tb-  f  battle  \m  clearer!  $way  &nd[  w«  bruuul"-  911 


"My  observations  lead   me    <«/    the   coiicluwion  i;n  t'nj  Soui  IPTM  Slates  a.-i;i,n  agent  of  tin.-  Freed- 
hat,  iln:    citizens    of   Hie    Southern    Stales    are  j  men's  liinvn.ii.  and  then  have    all    orders   from 
nxious    to    velum    to  Btrtf-goverimUMit,  within  j  the  head  of  the  bureau  sen!,  through  department 
a.-*  soon  as  possible;   I  hut  whilst  re-    commanders.     This  'would    create    a  responsi- 
nd    require  protection  ;  biliiy  that    would    secure    uniformity    of  action 


the  Union 

const ruciing  they  want 

from  the  government  ;  that  they  are   in  earnest  j  throughout   all   the    South;  would"  insure   th 


wishing  to  do  what  they  think  is  required  by 
the  government,  not  Humiliating  to  them  as 
ritizens,  and  that  if  such  a  course  were  pointed 
out  they  would  pursue  it  in  good  faith.  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  there  cannot  be  a  greater  | 


commingling,  at  this  time,  between  the  citizens   your  obedient  servant, 

' 


orders  and  instructions  from  the  head  of  the 
bureau  being  curried  out,  and  would  relieve 
from  duty  and  pay  a  large  number  of  employees 
of  the  government. 

I  have    the  honor   to  be,    very  respectfully, 


nf  (lie   two  sections,  and    particularly  of  those 

intrust  !-d  with  the  law-making  power. 

I  did  not  gitfe  the    operations  of  the    Freed- 

men's  Bureau  that  attention  I  would  have  done 

ii    more  time  had  been    at  my  disposal.     Con 

versations  on  the  subject,  however,  with  officers 

connected  with   the    bureau,  lead   me   to  think 

that,  in  some  of  the  States,  its  affairs  have  not 

been  conducted  with  good  judgment  or  economy, 

and  that  the    belief,    widely  spread    among  the 

i'reedmen  of  the  Southern  States,  that  the  lands 

of  their  former  owners  will,  at  least  in  part,  be 

divided  among  them,  has  come  from  agents  of 

this  bureau.     This   belief  is    seriously  interfer~ 

ing  with    the    willingness    of  the  freed  men    to 

make  contracts   for  the  coming  year.     In  some 

form  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  is  an  absolute  ne 

cessity  until    civil    law   is    established   and  en 

forced,  securing  to  the  freed  men  their  rights  and 

full  protection.     At  present,  however,  it  is  in 

dependent  of  the  military  establishment  of  the 

country,  and  seems  to  be  operated  by  the  differ 

ent  agents  of  the  bureau  according  to  their  in 

dividual  notions.    Everywhere  General  Howard. 

the  able  head  of  the  bureau,    made  friends  by 

the  just  and    fair    instructions    and    advice   he 

gave  :  but  the  complaint  in  South  Carolina  was 

that  when   he    left,  things   went   on  as  before. 

Many,  perhaps  the    majority,  of  the    agents  of 

the  Freedmen's   Bureau   advise  the   freedm'en 

that  by  their  own  industry  they  must  expect  to 

live.     To  this  end  they  endeavor  to  secure  em 

ployment  for  them,  and  to   see   that  both  con 

tracting  parties  comply  with  their  engagements. 

In  some  instances,  1  am  sorry  to  say,  the  freed-  jfor  the,  purpose  of  inquiring  into  the   existing 

man's  mind   does    not  seem  to  be  disabused  of  condition  of  things,  of  laying  before  you  what- 

the  idea  that  a  freedman  has  the  right  to  live   ever  information  of  importance  I  might  gather, 

without  care  or  provision   for  the  future.     The   and  of  suggesting  to  you   such  measures  as  my 

effect  of  the  belief  in  division  of  lands  is  idle-   observations  would  lead  me  to  believe  advisable, 

ness  and    accumulation    in    camps,  towns,  and   I   accepted  the   trust  with   a  profound  sense  of 

cities.     In  such  cases  I  think   it  will  be  found!  the   responsibility  connected  with  the   perform 

ance  of  the  task.  The  views  I  entertained  at 
the  time,  I  had  communicated  to  you  in  frequent 
letters  and  conversations.  I  would  not  have  ac 
cepted  the  mission,  had  I  not  felt  that  whatever 
preconceived  opinions  I  might  carry  with  me  to 
the  South,  I  should  be  ready  to  abandon  or  mod- 


CJ.  S.  GRANT, 

Lieutenant  General* 
His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHXSON, 

President  of  the  United  States. 


GRANT'S  letter  exhibits  his  characteristic  can 
dor,  consistency  and  freedom  from  prejudice, 
showing  his  desire  for  harmony,  peace,  and  re 
trenchment  of  expenses  connected  with  the  ad 
ministration  of  affairs.  Schurz's  report  is 
lengthy  and  sensational,  in  which  the  personal 
pronoun  I  figures  very  extensively  ;  and  it  is 
anything  but  flattering  to  the  people  of  the 
South,  whether  white  or  colored.  Although  he 
says  that  "he  has  conscientiously  endeavored 
to  see  things  as  they  were,  and  to  represent  them 
as  he  saw  them,"  the  great  inconsistency  be 
tween  his  views  then  and  his  recent  utterances 
must  be  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer 
of  his  vacillating  political  course. 


REPORT  OF  CARL  SOHURZ  ON  THE  STATES 
OF  SOOTH  CAROLINA,  GEORGIA,  ALA 
BAMA,  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  LOUISIANA. 

SIR  :  When  you  did  me  the  honor  of  selecting 
me  for  a  mission  to  the  States  lately  in  rebellion, 


that  vice  and  disease  will  tend  to  the  extermi 
nation  or  great  reduction  of  the  colored  race. 
It  cannot  be  expected  that  the  opinions  held  by 
men  at  the  South  for  years  can  be  changed  in  a 
•  lay.  and  therefore  the  freedmen  require,  for  a 
few  years,  not  only  laws  to  protect  them,  but 

the  fostering  care  of  those  who    will   give  them  |  ify,  as  my  perception  of  facis  and  circumstances 
good  counsel,  and  on  whom  they  rely.  j  might  command  their  abandonment  or  modifica- 

The  Freedmen's  Bureau  being  separated  from  tion.  You  informed  me  that  your  "  policy  of  re- 
the  militafy  establishment  of  the  country,  re-  construction"  was  merely  experimental,  and 
quires  all  the  expense  of  a  separate  organiza-  that  you  would  change  it  if  the  experiment  did 
tion.  One  does  not  necessarily  know  what  the  j  not  lead  to  satisfactory  results.  To  aid  you  m 
other  is  doing,  or  what  orders  they  are  acting  (forming  .your  conclusions  upon  this  point  I  un- 
undev.  It  seems  to  me  this  could  be  corrected 
by  regarding  every  officer  on  duty  with  troops 


. 

derstood  to  be  the  object  of  my  mission,  and  this 
understanding  was  in  perfect   accordance  with 


the  written   instructions  I  received  through  the  \  and  \ve  are  ready  to  submit  to  the  result  of  the 
Secretary  of  War.  war.     The  war  lias  practically  decided  that  no 

These  instructions  confined  my  mission  to  the  State  shall  secede  and  that  the  slaves  are  eman- 
States  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  cipated.  We  cannot  be  expected  at  once  to  give 
Mississippi,  and  the  department  of  the  Gulf.  I  up  our  principles  and  convictions  of  right,  bat 
informed  you,  before  leaving  the  North,  that  I  j  we  accept  facts  as  they  are,  and  desire  to  be  re- 
could  not  well  devote  more  than  three  months  j  instated  as  soon  as  possible  in  the  enjoyment 
to  the  duties  imposed  upon  me,  and  that  space  j  and  exercise  ot  our  political  rights  "  This  de- 
of  time  proved  sufficient  for  me  to  visit  all  the  j  ciaratvm  was  repeated  to  me  hundreds  of  times 
States  above  enumerated,  except  Texas.  j  in  every  State  I  visited,  with  some  variations  of 

language,  according   to   the    different    wavs   of 


Before  laying  the  results  of  my  observations 
before   you,  it  is  proper   that  I  should    state  the 


thinking,  or  the  frankness  or  reserve  of  the 
ferent  speakers.     Some  said  nothing  of  adherin* 


modus  'opcrandi   by  which    I  obtained  'informa-    t°1their   o]d  prindpleH  and  convictions  of  right 
tion   and  formed  my   conclusions.     Wherever  I  j  °?.am>s  st.lU  Argued  against  the   constitutionality 


went   I   sought    interviews   with   persons    who 
might  be  presumed  to  represent  the  opinions,  or 


of  coercion  and  of  the  emancipation  proclama 
tion,  others  expressed  their  determination  to  be- 


to  "have   influence   upon   the   conduct,  of  their  i  co.me  £°od  citizens  in  strong  language,  and  urged 

with  equal  emphasis  the  necessity  of  their  home 
institutions  being  at  once  left  to  their  own  con 
trol  ;  others  would  go  so  far  as  to  say  they  were 
glad  that  the  war  was  ended,  and  they  had  never 
any  confidence  in  the  confederacy  :  others  pro 
tested  that  they  had  been  opposed  to  secession 
until  their  States  went  out,  and  then  yielded  to 
the  current  of  events.  Some  would  me  give  to  un 
derstand  that  they  had  always  been  good  Union 
men  at  heart,  and  rejoiced  that  the  war  had 
terminated  in  favor  of  the  national  cause,  but  in 
most  cases  such  a  sentiment  was  exprcswd  only 
in  (i  whisper ;  others  again  would  grumblingly 
insist  upon  the  restoration  of  their  "  rights/'  a*s 
if  they  had  done  no  wrong,  and  indicated  plainly 
that  they  would  submit  only  to  what  they  could 
not  resist  and  as  lony  as  they  could  not  mm  it. 
Such  were  the  definitions  of  "  returning  loyalty'' 
I  received. 

Upon   the  ground,  of  these  declarations,  and 
other  evidence  gathered  in  the  course  of  my  ob- 


neighbors ;  I  had  thus  frequent  meetings  with 
individuals  belonging  to  the  different  classes  of 
society  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest ;  in  the 
cities  as  well  as  on  the  roads  and  steamboats  I 
had  many  opportunities  to  converse  not  only 
with  inhabitants  of  the  adjacent  country,  but 
with  persons  coming  from  districts  which  I  was 
not  able  to  visit ;  and  finally  I  compared  the 
impressions  thus  received  with  the  experience 
of  the  military  and  civil  officers  of  the  govern 
ment  stationed  in  that  country,  as  well  as  of 
other  reliable  Union  men  to  whom  a  longer  resi 
dence  on  the  spot  and  a  more  varied  intercourse 
with  people  had  given  better  facilities  of  local 
observation  than  my  circumstances  permitted 
me  to  enjoy.  When  practicable  I  procured  state 
ments  of  their  views  and  experience  in  writing 
as  well  as  copies  of  official  or  private  reports 
they  had  received  from  their  subordinates  or 
other  persons.  It  was  not  expected  of  me  that 
I  should  take  formal  testimony,  and,  indeed,  such 


an    operation  would   have   required  more    time   servations,  I   may   group   the  Southern   people 


than  I  was  able  to  devote  to  it. 

HETURNING    LOYALTY. 

^  ^  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  in  the  States  of 
Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  the  number  of 
white  Unionists  who,  during  the  war,  actively 
aided  the  government,  or  at  least  openly  pro- 
i'trsed  their  attachment  to  the  cause  of  the  Un 
ion,  was  very  small.  In  none  of  these  States 


they  strong  enough  to  exercise  any  de- 
isive  influence  upon  the  action  of  the  people, 
iot  even  in  Louisiana,  unless  rigorously  suort 


were 

cisiv 

not  even  in  Louisiana,  unless  rigorously  support 
ed  by  the  power  of  the  general  government. 
I5nt  the  white  people  at  large  being  under  cer 
tain  conditions  charged  with  taking  the  prelim 
inaries  of  "reconstruction"  into  their  hands, 
thr  success  of  the  experiment  depends  upon  the 
spirit  and  attitude  of  those  who  either  attached 
themselves  to  the  secession  cause  from  the  be 
ginning,  or,  entertaining  originally  opposite  i  States  without  delay  restored"  to  their  position 
views, at  least  followed  its  fortunes  from  the  time  and  influence  in  the  Union  and  the  people  of  the 


into  four  classes,  each  of  which  exercises  an  in 
fluence  upon  the  development  of  things  in  that 
section  : 

1.  Those  who,  although  having  yielded  sub 
mission  to  the  national  government  only  when 
obliged  to  do  so,  have  a  clear  perception  of  the 
irreversible  changes  produced  by  the  war,  and 
honestly  endeavor  to  accommodate  themselves 
to  the  new  order  of  things.  Many  of  them  are 
not  free  from  traditional  prejudice  but  open  to 
conviction,  and  may  be  expected  to  acr,  iu  good 
faith  whatever  they  do.  This  class  is  composed, 
in  its  majority,  of  persons  of  mature  age — plant 
ers,  merchants,  and  professional  men  ;  some  of 
them  are  active  in  the  reconstruction  movement, 
but  boldness  and  energy  are,  with  a  few  indi 
vidual  exceptions,  not  among  their  distinguish 
ing  qualities.  ,. 

Those  whose  principal  object  is  to  have  the 


that  their  States  had  declared  their  separation 
from  the  Union. 

The  first  southern  men  of  this  class  with 
whom  I  came  into  contact  immediately  after  my 
arrival  in  South  Carolina  expressed  their  senti 
ments  almost  literally  in  the  following  lan 
guage  :  "  We  acknowledge  ourselves  beaten, 


States  to  the  absolute  control  of  their  home  con 
cerns.  They  are  ready,  in  order  to  attain  that 
object,  to  make  any  ostensible  concessions  that  will 
not  prevent  them  from  arranging  things  to  suit 
their  taste  as  soon  an  that  object  is  attained. 
This  class  comprises  a  considerable  number* 
probably  a  largo  majority,  of  the  proi'esslunal. 


politicians  who  an- extremely  active  in  the  re  persons,  mostly  belonging  to  the  first  of  the 
construction  movement.  They  are  loud  in  their  j  four  classes  above  enumerated,  are  honestly 
praise  of  the  President's  reconstruction  policy, !  striving  to  soften  down  the  bitter  feelings  and 
and  clamorous  for  the  withdrawal  of  the  Feleral  j  traditional  antipathies  of  their  neighbors; 
troops  and  the  abolition  of  the  Freedmen's  Bu-i  others,  who  are  acting  more  upon  motives  of 
reau.  j  policy  than  inclination,  maintain  pleasant  re- 

3.  The  incorrigible*,  who  still  indulge  in  the!  lations  with  the  officers  of  the  government. 
swagger  which  was  so  customary  before  and  dur-  ^ut,  uPon  the  whole,  the  soldier  of  the  Union 
ing  the  war,  and  still  hope  for  a  time  when  the  is  still  looked  upon  as  a  stranger,  an  intrnder— 
Southern  confederacy  will  achieve  its  indepen-  as  the  "Yankee,"  "  the  enemy,"  It  would  be 
dence.  This  class  consists  mostly  of  young  men,  |  superfluous  to  enumerate  instances  of  insult 
and  comprises  the  loiterers  of  the  towns  and  the  offered  to  our  soldiers,  and  even  to  officers  high 
idlers  of  the  country.  They  persecute  Union  \  in  command  ;  the  existence  and  intensity  of 


country 
men  and  negroes  whenever 


persecute 
they  can  do  so  with 


impunity,  insist  clamorously  upon  their  "rights," 
and  are  extremely  impatient  of  the  presence  of 
the  Federal  soldiers.  A  good  many  of  them  have 
taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  amnesty,  and  as- 


this  aversion  is  too  well  known  to  those  who 
have  served  or  are  now  serving  in  the  South  to 
require  proof. 

This  feeling  of  aversion  and  resentment  with 
regard  to  our  soldiers  may,   perhaps,   be  called 


sociated  themselves  with  the  second  class  in  their  S  natural.     The   animosities   inflamed  by  a  four 


This  element    is  by   no 
it  is  Strong  in  numbers. 


political    operations. 

means  unimportant ; 

deals  in  brave  talk,  addresses  itself  directly  and 

incessantly  to  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  the 

masses,  and   commands  the   admiration  of  the 

women. 

4.  The  multitude  of  people  who  have  no  defi 
nite  ideas  about  the  circumstances  under  which 
they  live  and  about  the  course  they  have  to  fol 
low  ;  whose  intellects  are  weak,  but  whose  pre 
judices  and  impulses  are  strong,  and  who  are 
apt  to  be  carried  along  by  those  who  know  how 
to  appeal  to  the  latter. 

But  whatever  their  differences  may  be,  on  one 
point  they  are  agreed  :  further  resistance  to  the 
power  of  the  national  government  is  useless,  and 
submission  to  its  authority  a  matter  of  neces 


sity.     It  is  true,  tin 
is  still  believed  in 


right  of  secession  in  theory 
most  of  those  who  for 


merly  believed  in  it;  some  are  still  entertaining 
a  vague  hope  of  seeing  it  realized  at  some  future 
time,  but  all  give  it  up  as  a  practical  impossi 
bility  for  the  present. 

OATH-TAKING. 

Of  those  who  have  not  yet  taken  the  oath  of 
allegiance  most  belong  to  the  class  of  indifferent 
people  who  "do  not  care  one  way  or  the  other." 
There  are  still  some  individuals  who  find  the 
oath  to  be  a  confession  of  defeat  and  a  declara 
tion  of  submission  too  humiliating  and  too  re 
pugnant  to  their  feeling.  It  is  to  be  expected 
that  the  former  will  gradually  overcome  their 
apathy  and  the  latter  their  sensitiveness,  and 
that  at  a  not  remote  day,  all  will  have  qualified 
themselves,  in  point  of  form,  to  resume  the  right 
of  citizenship. 

FEKTJXO   TOWARD   TIIK    SOLDIERS    AND    PEOPLE    OP 
THU    XORTII. 

No  instance  has  come  to  my  notice  in  which 
the  people  of  a  city  or  a  rural  district  cordially 
fraternized  with  the  army.  Here  and  there  the 
soldiers  were  welcomed  as  protectors  against 
apprehended  dangers  ;  but  general  exhibitions 
of  cordiality  on  the  part  of  the  population  I 
have  not  heard  of.  There  are,  indeed,  honor 
able  individual  exceptions  to  this  rule.  Many 


years'  war,  and  its  distressing  incidents,  cannot 
be  easily  overcome.  But  they  extend  beyond 
the  limits  ot  the  army,  to  the  people  of  the 
North.  I  have  read  in  Southern  papers  bitter 
complaints  about  the  unfriendly  spirit  exhibited 
by  the  Northern  people — complaints  not  un* 
frequently  flavored  with  an  admixture  of  vitu 
peration.  But,  as  far  as  my  experience  goes, 
the  "  unfriendly  spirit  "  exhibited  in  the  North 
is  all  mildness  and  affection  compared  with  the 
popular  temper  which  in  the  South  vents  itself 
in  a  variety  of  ways  ar.cl  on  all  possible  occa 
sions.  No  observing  Northern,  man  can  come 
into  contact  with  the  different  classes  composing 
Southern  society  without  noticing  it.  lie  may 
be  received  in  social  circles  with  great  polite 
ness,  even  with  apparent  cordiality ;  but  soon 
he  will  become  aware  that,  although  he  may  be 
esteemed  as  a  man,  he  is  detested  as  a  "  Yan-» 
kee,"  and,  as  the  conversation  becomes  a  little 
more  confidential  and  throws  off  ordinary  re 
straint,  he  is  not  unfrequently  told  so  ;  the 
word  "Yankee"  still  signifies  to  them  those 
traits  of  character  which  the  Southern  press 
has  been  so  long  in  the  habit  of  attributing  to 
the  Northern  people  ;  and  whenever  they  look 
around  them  upon  the  traces  of  the  war,  they 
see  in  them,  not  the  consquences  of  their  own 
folly,  but  the  evidences  ot  "  Yankee  wicked- 


SITTTATION   OF   UNIONISTS. 


It  struck  me,  soon  after  my  arrival  in  the 
South,  that  the  known  Unionists — 1  mean  those 
who,  during  the  war,  had  been  to  a  certain  ex 
tent  identified  with  the  national  cause — were 
not  in  communion  with  the  leading  social  and 
political  circles  ;  and  the  further  my  observa^ 
tions  extended  the  clearer  it  became  to  me  that 
their  existence  in  Uie  South  was  of  a  rather 
precarious  nature.  Already  in  Charleston,  S. 
C.,  my  attention  was  called  to  the  current  talk 
among  the  people,  that  when  they  had  the;  con 
trol  of  things  once  more  in  their  own  hanJs, 
and  were  no  longer  restrained  by  the  presence 
of  "Yankee"  soldiers,  men  of  Dr.  Mackey's 
stamp  would  not  be  permitted  to  live  there. 


WHAT   HAS    BEEN    ACCOMPLISHED. 

While  the  generosity  and  toleration  shown 
by  the  government  to  the  people  lately  in  re- 
hellion  has  not  met  with  a  corresponding  gen 
erosity  shown  by  those  people  to  the  govern 
ment's  friends,  it  has  brought,  forth  some  results 
which,  if  properly  developed,  will  becom  e  of 
value.  It  has  facilitated  the  re-establishment 
of  the  froms  of  civil  government,  and  led  many 
ot  those  who  had  been  active  in  the  rebellion  to 
take  part  in.  the  act  of  bringing  back  the  States 
to*  their  constitutional  relations  ;  and  if  noth 
ing  else  were  necessary  than  the  mere  putting 
in  operation  of  the  mere  machinery  of  govern 
ment  in  point  of  form,  and  not  also  the  accep 
tance  of  the  results  of  the  war  and  their  de 
velopment  in  point  of  spirit,  these  results,  al 
though  as  yet  incomplete,  might  be  called  a  satis 
factory  advance  in  the  right  direction. 

But  as  to  the  moral  value  of  these  results,  we 
must  not  indulge  in  any  delusions.  There  are 
two  principal  points  to  which  I  beg  to  call  your 
attention.  In  the  first  place,  the  rapid  return  to 
power  and  influence  of  so  many  of  those  who- 
but  recently  wore  engaged  in  a  bitter  war  against 
the  Union,  has  had  one  effect  which  was  cer 
tainly  not  originally  contemplated  by  the  govern 
ment.  Treason  does,  under  existing  circum. 
stances,  not  appear  odious  in  the  South.  The 
people  are  not  impressed  with  any  sense  of  its 
cirminality.  And,  secondly,  there  is,  as  yet, 
among  the  Southern  people  an  utter  absence  of 
national  feeling.  I  made  it  a  business,  while  in 
the  South,  to  watch  the  symptoms  of  "  return 
ing  loyalty  "  as  they  appeared  not  only  in  pri 
vate  conversation,  but  in  the  public  press  and  in 
the  speechs  delivered  and  the  resolutions  passed 
at  Onion  meetings.  Hardly  ever  was  there  an 
expression  of  hearty  attachment  to  the  great  re 
public,  or  an  appeal  to  the  impulses  of  patriot 
ism  ;  but  whenever  submission  to  the  national 
authority  was  declared  and  advocated,  it  was 
almost  uniformly  placed  upon  two  principal 
grounds  :  That,  under  present  circumstances,  tho 
Southern  people  could  "  do  no  better  ;  "  and  then 
that  submission  was  the  only  means  by  which 
they  could  rid  themselves  of  the  federal  soldiers 
find  obtain  once  more,  control  of  their  own  affair*. 
Some  of  the  speakers  may  have  been  inspired  by 
higher  motives,  Jbut  upon  these  two  arguments 
they  had  principally  to  rely  whenever  they 
wanted  to  make  an  impression  upon  the  popular 
mind.  While  admitiing  that,  at  present,  we 
have  perhaps  no  right  to  expect  anything  better 
than  this  submission — loyalty  which  springs 
from  necessity  and  calculation — I  do  not  consider 
it  safe  for  the  government  to  base  expectations 
upon  it,  which  the  manner  in  which  it  manifests 
itself  does  not  justify. 

KU-KLIIX  TN  1805. 

^  The  organization  of  civil  government  is  re 
lieving  the  military,  to  a  great  extent,  of  its 
police  duties  and  judicial  functions  ;  but  at  the 
time  I  left  the  South  it  was  still  very  far  from 
showing  a  satisfactory  efficiency  in  the  mainte 


nance  of  order  and  security.  In  many  districts 
robbing  and  plundering  was  going  on  with  per 
fect  impunity  ;  the  roads  were  infested  by  bands 
of  highwaymen  ;  numerous  assaults  occurred, 
and  several  stage  lines  were  considered  unsafe. 
It  is  stated  that  civil  officers  are  either  unwilling 
or  unable  to  enforce  the  law ;  that  one  man 
does  not  dar^  to  testify*  agaiiist  another  for  fear 
of  being  murdered,  and  that  the  better  elements 
of  society  are  kept  down  by  lawless  characters 
under  a  system  of  terrorism.  Both  the  Govern 
ors  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi  complained  of  it 
in  official  proclamations.  Such  a  state  of  demor 
alization  would  call  for  extraordinary  measures 
in  any  country,  and  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how, 
in  the  face  of  the  inefficiency/  of  the  civil  authori 
ties,  the  removal  of  the  troops  can  be  thought  of. 


It  is  well  known  that  the  levying  of  taxes  for 
the  payment  of  the  interest  on  our  national  debt 
is,  and  will  continue  to  be,  very  unpopular  in 
the  South.  It  is  true  no  striking  demonstrations 
have  as  yet  been  made  of  any  decided  unwilling 
ness  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  contribute  to 
the  discharge  of  our  national  obligations.  But 
most  of  the  conversations  I  had  with  Southern 
ers  upon  this  subject  led  me  to  apprehend  that 
they,  politicians  and  people,  are  rather  inclined 
to  ask  money  of  the  government  as  compensation. 
for  their  emancipated  skives,  for  the  rebuilding  of 
the  levees  on  the  Mississippi,  and  various  kinds 
of  damage  done  by  our  armies  for  military  pur 
poses,  than,  as  the  current  expression  is,  to  "help 
pay  the  expenses  of  the  whipping  they  have  re 
ceived. 

THE  SOUTHERN"  PEOPLE  EXPECT  TO  TIE  PAID 
FOE,  EMANCIPATED  SLAVES  BY  THE  GENERAL 
GOVERNMENT,  AND  AIIE  OPPOSED  TO  BEING 
TAXED  TO  HELP  PAY  THE  NATIONAL  DEl'.T. 

In  fact  there  arc  abundant  indications  which 
render  it  eminently  probable  that,  on  the  claim 
of  compensation  for  their  emancipated  slaves, 
the.  Southern  States,  as  soon  as  re-admitted  to 
Congress,  will  be  almost  a  unit.  In  the  Missis 
sippi  convention  the  idea  was  broached  in  an 
elaborate  speech,  to  have  the  late  slave  States 
relieved  from  taxation  "for  years  to  come  "  in- 
consideration  of  debt  due  them  for  emancipated 
slaves. 

I  need  not  go  into  details  as  to  the  efforts 
made  in  some  of  the  Southern  States  in  favor 
of  the  assumption  by  those  States  of  their  debts 
contracted  during  the  rebellion.  ^ 

It  may  be  assumed  with  certainty  that  those 
who  want  to  have  the  Southern  people,  poor  as 
they  are,  taxed  for  the  payment  ot  rebel  debts, 
do  not  mean  to  have  them  taxed  for  the  purpose 
of  meeting  our  national  obligations.  But  what 
ever  devices  may  be  resorted  to,  present  indica 
tions  justify  the  apprehension  that  the  enforce 
ment  of  our  revenue  laws  will  meet  m/.h  «,  -n-.f fac 
tory  spirit,  and  may  require  sterner  mcan'nren 
than  the  mere  sending  of  revenue  officers  into 
that  part  of  the  country. 


THE   LABOR  QUESTION. 

When  the  war  came  to  a  close  the  labor  sys 
tem  of  the  South  was  already  much  disturbed. 
In  some  localities,  where  our  troops  had  not  yet 
penetrated,  and  where  no  military  post  was 
within  reach,  planters  endeavored  and  partially 
succeeded  in  maintaining  between  themselves 
and  the  negroes  the  relation  of  master  and 
slave,  partly  by  concealing  from  them  the  great 
changes  that  had  taken  place,  and  partly  by  ter 
rorizing  them  into  submission  to  their  behests. 
But  aside  from  these  exceptions,  the  country 
found  itself  thrown  into  that  confusion  which  is 
naturally  inseparable  from  a  change  so  great 
and  so  sudden.'  The  white  people  were  afraid 
of  the  negroes,  and  the  negroes  did  not  trust  the 
white  people;  the  military  power  of  the  na 
tional  government  stood  there,  and  was  looked 
up  to  as  the  protector  of  both. 

GENERAL  TREATMENT  OF  THE  NEGKO. 

A  belief,  conviction,  or  prejudice,  or  whatever 
you  may  call  it,  so  widely  spread  and  apparent 
ly  so  deeply  rooted,  as  this,  that  the  negro  will 
not  work  without  physical  compulsion,  is  cer 
tainly  calculated  to  have  a  very  serious  influence 
upon  the  .conduct  of  the  people  entertaining  it. 
It  naturally  produced  a  desire  to  preserve 
slavery  in  its  original  form  as  much  and  as  long 
as  possible — and  you  may,  perhaps,  remember 
the  admission  made  by  one  of  the  provisional 
governors,  over  two  months  after  the  close  of 
the  war,  that  the  people  of  his  State  still  in 
dulged  in  a  lingering  hope  slavery  might  yet  be 
preserved — or  to  introduce  into  the  new  system 
that  element  of  physical  compulsion  which 
would  make  the  negro  work.  Efforts  were,  in 
deed,  made  to  hold  the  negro  in  his  old  state  of 
subjection,  especially  in  such  localities  where  our 
military  forces  had  not  yet  penetrated,  or  where 
the  country  was  not,  garrisoned  in  detail.  Hero 
and  there  planters  succeeded  for  a  limited  period 
to  keep  their  former  slaves  in  ignorance,  or  at 
least  doubt,  about  their  new  rights;  but  the 
main  agency  employed  for  that  purpose  was 
force  and  intimidation.  In  many  instances  ne 
groes  who  walked  away  from  the  plantations,  or 
were  found  upon  the  roads,  were  shot  or  other 
wise  severely  punished,  which  was  calculated  to 
produce  the  impression  among  those  remaining 
with  their  masters  that  .an  attempt  to  escape 
from  slaverv  would  result  in  certain  destruction. 


Brigadier  General  Fessenden  reports  : — "A 
spirit  of  bitterness  and  persecution  manifests  it^ 
self  towards  the  negroes.  They  are  shot  and 
abused,  outside  the  immediate  protection  of  our 
forces,  by  men  who  announce  tlieir  determination 
to  take,  the  lain  into  their  own  hands,  in  defiance  of 
our  authority.  To  protect  the  negro  and  punish 
these  still  rebellious  individuals  it  will  be  neces 
sary  to  have  their  country  pretty  thickly  settled 
with  soldiers." 

*   .         *  *  *  *  * 

The  habit  is  so  inveterate  with  a  great  many 
persons  as  to  render  on  the 'least  provocation, 


the  impulse  to  whip  a  negro  almost  irresistible. 
It  will  continue  to  be  so  until  the  Southern  peo 
ple  will  have  learned,  so  as  never  to  for  f/ct  it,  that 
a  black  man  has  rights  wlticha  'white  man  is  bound 
to  reject. 

So  far  the  spirit  of  persecution  has  shown  it 
self  so  strong  as  to  make  the  protection  of  the 
freedrnan  by  the  military  arm  of  the  government 
in  many  localities  necessary — in  almost  all,  de 
sirable. 

EDUCATION    OF  THE  FREEDMEN. 

I  was  forced  to  the  conclusion  that,  aside  from 
a*  small  number  of  honorable  exceptions,  the 
popular  prejudice  is  almost  as  bitterly  set  against 
the  negro's  having  the  advantage  of  education 
as  it  was  when  the  negro  was  a  slave.  There 
may  be  an  improvement  in  that  respect,  but  it 
would  prove  only  how  universal  the  prejudice 
was  in  former  days.  Hundreds  of  times  I  heard 
the  old  assertion  repeated,  that  "  learning  will 
spoil  the  nigger  for  work,"  and  that  "  negro 
education  will  be  the  ruin  of  the  South."  An- 
cther  most  singular  notion  still  holds  a  potent 
sway  over  the  minds  of  the  masses — it  i«,  that 
the  elevation  of  the  blacks  will  be  the  degrada 
tion  of  the  whites.  They  do  not  understand 
yet  that  the  continual  contact  with  an  ignorant 
and  degraded  populatien  must  necessarily  lower 
the  mental  and  moral  tone  of  the  other  classes  of 
society.  This  they  might  have  learned  from 
actual  experience,  as  we  in  the  North  have  been 
taught,  also  by  actual  experience,  that  the  educa 
tion  of  the  lower  orders  is.  the  only  reliable  basis 
of  the  civilization  as  well  as  of  the  prosperity  of 
a  people. 

The  consequence  of  the  prejudice  prevailing 
in  the  Southern  States  is  that  colored  schools 
can  be  established  and  carried  on  with  safety 
only  under  the  protection  of  our  military  forces, 
and  that  where  the  latter  are  withdrawn  tho 
former  have  to  go  with  them.  There  may  be  a 
few  localities  forming  exceptions,  but  tlieir  num 
ber  is  certainly  very  small. 

THE  RE  ACT  ION  A  UY  TENDENCY. 

I  stated  above  that,  in  my  opinion,  the  solu- 
t\on  of  the  social  problem  in  the  South  did  not 
depend  upon  the  capacity  and  conduct  of  the 
negro  alone,  but  in  the  same  measure  upon  the 
ideas  and  feelings  entertained  and  acted-  upon 
by  the  whites.  What  their  ideas  and  teelings 
were  while  under  my  observation,  and  how  they 
affected  the  contact  of  the  two  races,  I  have  aft 
read}7'  set  forth.  The  question  arises,  what  pol 
icy  wilj  be  adopted  by  the  "  ruling  class  "  when 
all  restraint  imposed' upon  them  by  the  military 
power  of  the  national  government  is  withdrawn, 
and  they  are  left  free  to  regulate  matters  accord 
ing  to  their  own  tastes?  It  would  be  presump 
tuous  to  speak  of  the  future  with  absolute  cer 
tainty  ;  but  it  may  safely  be  assumed  that  the 
same  causes  will  always  tend  to  produce  the 
same  effects.  As  long  as  a  majority  of  the 
Southern  people  believe  that  "  the  negro  will 
not  work  without  physical  compulsion,"  and 
that  "the  blacks  at  large  belong  to  the  whites 
at  large,"  that  belief  will  tend  to  produce  a  SYS- 


tern  of  coercion,  the  enforcement,  of  \vliich  will  announces  its  policy  not  to  give  up  tlie  control  of 
lw  aided  by  the  ho&tU<j  feelii%  against  tbe  n<jgfb  j tlie  free-labor  reform  until  it  is  finally  accora- 
now  prevailing  among  the  whites,  and  by  the 
general  spirit  of  violence  which  in  the  South 
was  fostered  by  the  influence  slavery  exercised 
upon  the  popular  character.  It 'is,  indeed,  not 
probable  that  a  general  attempt  will  he  made  to 
restore  slavery  in  its  old  form,  on  account  of  the 
barriers  which  such  an  attempt  would  find  m 
its  way;  but' there  are  systems  intermediate 
between  slavery  as  it  formerly  existed  in  the 
South,  and  free  labor  as  it  exists  in  the  North, 
but  more  nearly  related  to  the  former  than  to 
the  latter,  the  introduction,  of  which  will  be  at 
tempted,. 

****** 
When  speaking  of  popular  demonstrations  in 
the  South  in  favor  of  submission  to  the  govern 
ment,  I  stated  that  the  principal  and  almost  the 
only  argument  used  was,  that  they  found  them 
selves  in  a  situation  in  which  "  they  could  do  no 


plished,  the  progress  of  that  reform  will  undoubt 
edly  be  far  more  rapid  and  far  less  difficult  than 
it  will  be  if  the  attitude  of  the  government  is 
such  as  to  permit  contrary  hopes  to  be  indulged 


CURE   FREK   LABOR   IX    THE  SOUTH. 

The  machinery  by  which  the  government  has 
so  far  exercised  its  protection  of  the  negro  and 
of  free  labor  in  the  South — the  Freedmen's 
Bureau — is  very  unpopular  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  as  every  institution  placed  there  as  a 
barrier  to  reactionary  aspirations  would  be-  * 
I  feel  warranted  in  saying 

that  not  half  of  the  labor  that  has  been  done 
it)  the  South  this  year,  or  will  be  done  there 
next  year,  would  have  been  or  would  be  done 
but  for  the  exertions  of  the  Freedaian's  Bureau. 


better."     It  was   the  same  thing  with  regard  to  !  The  confusion    and    disorder  of  the   transition 


the   abolition 
was   publicly 


of    slavery  ;    wherever   abolition    period  would  have    been    infinitely  greater  had 
advocated,   whether    in    popular   not  nn  agency  interfered   which  possessed  the 


meetings  or  in  State  conventions,  it  was  on  the 
ground  of  necessity — noY  unfrequently  with  the 
significant  addition  that,  as  soon  as  they  had 
once  more  control  of  their  own  State  affairs, 


confidence  of  the  emancipated  slaves  ;  which 
could  disabuse  them  of  any  extravagant  notions 
and  expectations  and  be  trusted  ;  which  could 
administer  to  them  good  advice  and  be  volun- 


they  could  settle  the  labor  question  to  suit  j  tarily  obeyed.'  No  other  agency,  except  one 
themselves,  whatever  they  might  have  to  sub-  I  placed  there  by  the  national  government,  could 
mit  to  for  the  present.  Not  only  did  I  find  this  iiave  wielded  that  moral  power  whose  interpo- 
to  be  the  common  talk  among  the  people,  but  sition  was  so  necessary  to  prevent  Southern  so- 
the  same  sentiment  was  openly  avowed  by  pub-  |ciety  from  falling  at  once  into  the  chaos  of  a 
lie  men  in  speech  and  print.  |  general  collision  between  its  different  elements. 

AVIIY  TIIE  SOUTHERN  PEOPLE  ARE  so  PERVERSE.  I  That  the  success   achieved    by  the  Freedmen's 
One  reason  why   the  Southern   people  are   8O   Bureau  is  as  yet  very  incomplete  cannot  be  dis- 
slow  in  accommodating  themselves  to  the  new  Umted'     A,  ft0™    P^    Ol*amf tlOU    »ud,  a 
order  of  things  is.Uhat  they  confidently  expect    more  carefully  selected    personnel  maybe    de- 
»e  permitted  u»  reflate  matter's  accord-   sl™ble  ?  but  Jt  1S  doubtf,ul  Aether  a  mor«  ^ 


soon  to  be  permitted  10  regulate  matters  accord- 


able  machinery  can  be  devised  to  secure  to  free 


it,B  iv  their  own  notions.  Every  concession , , 
made  to  them  by  the  government  -has  been  taken  lab.°.r  m.th,f  South  t,h.at,  protection  a 
as  an  encouragement  to  persevere  in  this  hope,  I  tm'oing  "'^ences  which  the  nature  o 
and,  unfortunately  for  them,  this  hope  is  nour-  i tlou  stl11  imperatively  demands, 
ished  by  influences  from  other  parts  of  the  coun 
try.  Hence  their  anxiety  to  have  their  State 
governments  restored  at  once,  to  have  the  troops 
withdrawn,  and  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  abol 
ished,  although  a  good  many  discerning  men 
know  well  that,  in  view  of  the  lawless  spirit 


SOUTHERN   DELUSIONS. 

The  Southern  people  honestly  maintained 
and  believed,  not  only  that  as  a  people  they 
were  highly  civilized,  but  that  their  civilization 
was  the  highest  that  could  be  attained,  and 


still  prevailing,  it  would  be  far  better  for  them 
to  have  the  general  order  of  society  firmly  maiu- 
by  the  Federal  power  until  things  have 


ought  to  serve  as  a  model  to  other  nations  the 
world  over.  The  more  enlightened  individuals 
among  them  fell  sometimes  a  vague  impression 


tained 

arrived  tit  a  final  settlement.  Had,  from°the  be-  •  of  the  barrenness  of  their  mental  life,  and  the 
ginning,  the  conviction  been  forced  upon  them  i  barbarous  peculiarities  of  their  social  organiza- 
1  hat  the  adulteration  of  the  new  order  of  things  ! tion  5  but  very  few  ever  dared  to  investigate 
by  the  admixture  of  elements  belonging  to  the  |»nd  to  expose  the  true  cause  of  these  evils, 
system  of  slavery  would  under  no  circumstances  i  Thus  the  people  were  so  wrapt  up  in  self-ad- 
bo  permitted,  a  much  larger  number  would  have  |  miration  as  to  be  inaccessible  to  the  voice  even 
launched  their  energies  into  the  new  channel. '\  of  the.  best-intentioned  criticism.  Hence  the 
nnd,  seeing  that  they  could  do  "no  better,"  :  delusion  they  indulged  in  us  to  the  absolute 
faithfully  co-operated  with  the  government.  It  |  superiority  of  their  race — a  delusion  which,  in 
is  hope  which  fixes  them  in  their  perverse  no-  \  spite  of  the  severe  test  it  has  undergone,  is  not 
tions.  That  hope  nourished  or  fully  gratified,  '  yet  given  up;  and  will,  as  every  traveller  in 
i  hey  will  persevere  in  the  same  direction.  That '•  the  South  can  testily  from  experience,  sorne- 
hope  destroyed,  a  great  many  will,  by  the  force  'limes  express  iisolf  in  singular  manifestations, 
ot  necessity,  m  once  accommodate  themselves  to  i  This  spirit,  which  for  so  long  a  time  has  kept 
the  logic  of  the  change.  If,  therefore,  the  na-  I  the  Southern  people  back  while  the  world  be- 
tional  government  firmly  and  unequivocally  }  sides  was  moving,  is  even  at  this  mohuuit  still 


8 


standing  as  a  serious  obstacle  in    the   way  of 


progress. 

The  South  needs  capital. 


freed  man  is  no  longer  considered    t!u    \> 


of  the  individual  master,  lit-   is  cou;-;id< .  •  ed  !l... 
But  capital  is  no-    slave   of   society,   and    all     independent    Staid 

toriously  timid   and    averse   to   risk  itself,  not   legislation  will  share  the  tendency  to  m  <•;.!«.•  him 
only  where  there  actually  is  trouble,  but  where   such.    The  ordinances  abolishing  slaven 


there  is  serious  and  continual  danger  of  trouble. 


to  consider — and  thev 


by  the  conventions  under   the    pressun    '•!"  cir 
cumstances,  will  not  be  looked  upon  a.-   ,  .ivnng 


the  establishment  of  a  new  form  of  s 
Practical  attempts  on  the  part,  of  I  lie  I 


Capitalist?    will   be   apt 

are  by  no  means   wrong    in    doing    so — that  no 

safe  investments   can    be  made  in  the  South  as  | 

long   as    Southern    society  is  liable  to    be  con-  j  people  to  deprive  the  nc^ro    of  his    rig   • 

vulsed    by   anarchical   disorders.      No    greater  i  freeman    may    result,    in    bloody  collisions,  HIM. 

encouragement     can.     therefore,    be    given    to  j  will  certainly  plunge  Southern  socii-iy 

capital  to  transfer  itself  to    the  South  than  the  j  less    fluctuations     and      amirehical     e 

assurance  that  the  government  will  continue  to  I  Such  evils  can  be  prevented  only  by  c 


control  the  development  of  the   new  social  sys 
tem  in  the  late  rebel  States  until    such  dangers 
are  averted  by  a  final  settler; 
a  thorough  free-labor  basis. 

NEGRO    SUFFRAGE. 

In  discussing  the  mailer  of  negro  suffrage  [ 
deemed  it  my  duty  to  confine  myself  strictly  to 
the  practical  aspects  of  the  subject.  1  have, 


therefore,    not    touched    its 


l    merits,  nor 


the  control   of  the    national    govcrnm-  • 
States  lately    in    rebellion    until    free    la 

are  averted  by  a  final  settlement  of  things  upon    fully  developed  and  (irmly  established,  a 

advantages    and    blessings    of  the  ne1. 
things  have  disclosed    themselves.      '' 
able  result  will    be    hastened  by  a  lir 
turn    on    the   part  of  the   governmen. 
tional  control  of  the  South  wirl    not 
such    results  are    secured.      Only    in 
(.-.    established    in 
numerous    immig 


can  that  security 


discussed   the    question     whether   the    national    which  will  render 
government  is  competent  to    enlarge,  the  elect*  [sible,  and  such    immigration    would 
ive  franchise  in    the    States    lately  in  rebellion    aid  a  favorable  development  of  thi; 
by  its  own  act  ;    F.deem    it   proper,  however,  to        It  will  hardly    be  possible  to    m-ci 
ofl'er  a  few  remarks  on  the  assertion   frequently   dom  against  oppressive  class  le^islat 
put  forth,  that  the  franchise    is    likely  to  be  ex-    vale  persecution,  unless    he  be   etui- 
tended   to    the   colored    man    by  the  voluntary   certain  measure  of  political  power. 
action  of  the  Southern  whites  themselves.      My        I   desire  not   to  be  understood  as 
observation    leads    me    to    a   contrary  opinion,    there  are    no  well-meaning    men 
Asule  from  a  very  few  enlightened  men,  I  found    who  were  compromised  in  the  n-i- 
but  one  class  of  people  in  favor  of  the  en fran-    are  many,  but    neither  their   numt   ; 
chisement   of  the  blacks:    it   was    the  class  of  [influence  is  strong  eaough   to.control 
Unionists  who  found  themselves  politically  os-    fest    tendency  of   the  popular  spir'r 
traciscd,  and  looked  upon  the  enfranchisement   great  reasons  for  hope  that  a  drier 
of  the    loyal    negroes  as  the    salvation    of  the  ! on  the  part  of  the  national  guvrrm 
whole  loyal  element.     But  their   numbers   and  j  duce    innumerable    and    valuable 
influence  are    sadly  insufficient  to  secure  such  i  This  consideration  counsels    lenity 
a  result.     The  masses   are  strongly  opposed  to   such   as  is   demanded  by    the  hum. 
colored  suffrage  ;  anybody  that    dares  to  advo-  i  lightened  spirit  of  our  times,  and  vi 
cateitis  stigmatized    as    a  dangerous   fanatic ;!  ness  in  the  carrying  out  of   priucii  • 
nor  do  I  deem  it  probable  that  in  the  ordinary  i  demanded    by  the  national   sense 
course  of  things  prejudices  will  wear  oil'  to  such  j tllu  exigencies  of  our  situation. 

I  would    entreat  you  to    take  m 
step  towards  relieving  the  S'au-s   ...     \y  iu 
lion   from  all  national   con'rol,  u;  'avor- 


ai)  extent  as  to  make  it  a  popular  measure. 
CONCLUSION. 


I  may  sum  up  all  I  have  said  in  a  few  words. 
If  nothing  were  necessary  but  to  restore  the 
machinery  of  government  in  the  States  lately  in 
rebellion  in  point  of  form,  the  movements  made 


able  changes  are  clearly  and  umu 
lained. 

To  that  end,  and   by  virtue  of 


vou    honored  me  with  \viien 


to  that  end    by  the  people   of  the  South  might   communicate   to   you.  freely   and    unn 
be  considered  satisfactory.    But  if  itis  required    my  views   as  to  tneasures  of   poli   v  proper  I 
that  the  Southern  people  should  also  accornmo-    a(i0p}(Hi.  I  would    now  ivsprcifu! 
date    themselves    to    the    results  of  the  war  in    vou  ;ulvise  i'on^nss  fo  ,v;//</   OIH. 
point  of  spirit,  those  movements  fall  far  shor.t  'gating  cotn.mtttet*  into  the  tioultn 
of  what  must  be  insisted  upon.  quire  for  themselves  into    the  ac 

The    loyalty  of  the    masses    and    most,  of  the  ( things  before  'final  action,  is  t<t!\\ . 
'ople,  consists  in  sub-   fan  of  imck  tibiiM  to  their  rcpr< 
ere  is,  except    in    iu^    legislative    branch  of  the  govei 
itire    absence  of  that  ;  withdrawal  ot  i  he  national  conti. 
tjon  of  the  country. 

I  am-,  f?ir,  very  respectfully,  y< 


leaders  of  the  Southern 
mission  to  necessity. 

dividual    instances,   an 

national  spirit  which    forms  the  basis   of  truo 

loyalty  and  patriotism, 

The  eintviioipahon  of  the  slaves  is  submitted 
to  only  in  BO  fur  a*   chattel  .slavery  in  the  old 

form  WJttld  not  b©  kept  up,    But  although  the 


yant, 


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